Many people’s hardship in Nigeria has been made worse by petrol shortages, turmoil at banks, insecurity, and a persistent lack of water and electricity.
Alexander Okwori has spent the last two hours waiting at a cash machine while Muhammed Bazza has been in line for gasoline under the hot sun for the previous four hours.
Awolowo, a major commercial thoroughfare in Lagos, Nigeria’s megacity of 20 million, is currently continually clogged by traffic congestion made worse by fuel line delays, adding to the suffering of the locals.
The nation of 215 million people is dealing with a confluence of issues from north to south.
With President Muhammadu Buhari stepping aside after serving the maximum two terms permitted by the law, it’s a volatile combination as Nigeria prepares for the presidential and general elections scheduled for next month.
Bazza claimed he tried to beat the lines for gas by waking up at 4:30 a.m., but it didn’t work — He was instructed to leave soon after 10 a.m., only 10 metres (30 feet) from the gas station.
“It’s over! No more fuel,” the station attendant said. “My day is wasted,” Bazza lamented. “Every day is the same problem, it’s ridiculous.”
Nigeria produces some of the most crude oil in Africa, but it has almost no refining capability, so it must import petroleum from Europe and other places.
“We are tired,” Bazza said before driving off. “Everywhere people are fighting.”
No money
Around fifty individuals are gathered outside a bank on the opposite side of the street, and additional people are constantly accumulating to the group.
Alexander Okwori is attempting to acquire the new banknotes that were introduced in October to replace the old naira, with a deadline of January 31 for the exchange.
However, only a few banks were dispersing the new notes days before the deadline, leaving many Nigerians—who are overwhelmingly impoverished and lack bank accounts—without access to cash.
The deadline was extended by the government to February 10 as a result of pressure, but on Tuesday many institutions were still unable to distribute the new notes.
“No ATM are giving money. I went to 10 banks, there are no new notes,” said Okwori, who wonders how he will manage to buy food for the day.
He’s so furious now that he doesn’t intend to cast a ballot on February 25.
“To get my PVC (voting card), I have to queue again. For what? They (politicians) are all the same,” the 21-year-old said.
Bola Tinubu of the president’s governing party and Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition group are the two leading contenders fighting to succeed Buhari.
The two are seasoned politicians who are wealthy and under suspicion for corruption by many voters.
Going downhill
In front of another gas station on Awolowo, a line has stopped all traffic, trapping Vanessa Ifejitah and her kids in their car for three hours as they try to get to school.
The mother of two exits her vehicle while donning an exquisite orange dress and begins yelling at the military personnel who are nearby.
“You are the cause of our problems!” she shouts, pointing at their vehicle parked in the middle of the queue, making things even worse for those trying to drive through — so Ifejitah starts directing the traffic herself to sort out the mess.
“The queue is getting worse every day… I don’t know what is happening in Nigeria,” she says, getting back into her car, on the verge of tears. “My children are two hours late for school.”
Many Americans are getting increasingly frustrated and some have decided not to vote on February 25.
The deadline for collecting Permanent Voter Cards has once more been extended by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Top contenders hoping to succeed Buhari Bola Tinubu of the president’s official opposition party, Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi.
Across the nation, anger is rising less than a month before election day.
According to local media, protests over the lack of fuel erupted on Monday (Jan. 30) in the southern city of Benin.
Angry masses also demonstrated against Buhari’s recent visit to Kano, the largest city in the north, blazing bonfires and throwing rocks at police in a city that has historically been one of the most violent in the country.
